


Finding Their Rhythm

by Politzania



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: High School AU, M/M, Nerd!Tony, baby!Dum-E, bed sharing, pining!Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 13:17:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19296526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Politzania/pseuds/Politzania
Summary: Steve Rogers has a crush on his friend, Tony Stark.  It takes a Dum-E and  a dumb jerk to bring them together.Inspired by  @bardingbeedle giving me the writing prompt “That’s the sound of his heartbeat.” +SteveTony





	Finding Their Rhythm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bardingbeedle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bardingbeedle/gifts).



> Title: Finding Their Rhythm  
> TSB Square: S2 - Sharing a Bed  
> Rating: Teen  
> Pairing(s): Steve/Tony  
> Warnings/Triggers: vaguely referenced under-age consentual maybe-sex  
> Summary: Steve Rogers has a crush on his friend, Tony Stark. It takes a Dum-E and a dumb jerk to bring them together.  
> 

Steve held his breath as Tony gently put the headset over his ears. “That’s the sound of his heartbeat.” 

He had to take his friend’s word for it; it just sounded like static to him. Tony had been working for months on his robot, starting by building its body from scratch. The Digital Mechanical Entity (which Tony naturally shortened to Dum-E) had a camera, a microphone and speakers, as well as a set of wheels and an articulated claw. Combined with the complex set of algorithms Tony was programming into its operating system, Dum-E would be able to interact with his (Tony had decided Dum-E was a ‘he’) environment and learn from his experiences. 

Tony was so excited at the progress he’d made that his gorgeous brown eyes almost glowed and his grin stretched from ear to ear. It was a far cry from just a few weeks ago, when Steve had called Tony to check on an assignment over fall break. Tony had sounded so distant and withdrawn that Steve had immediately fired up his motorcycle and rode out to the Stark Estate on the outskirts of the city. Mr. Jarvis let him in and showed him to Tony’s room, where he as good as told his friend he was coming home with him. 

When Tony asked his mother if he could go stay with Steve for the rest of their vacation, she waved a hand vaguely. “I suppose so. Best to get you out from under your father’s feet; he’s been in quite a mood lately.” 

Steve’s ma, on the other hand, welcomed Tony in with a smile. Steve had told her about Tony’s nearly non-existent relationship with his parents and she was happy to open her house to him. It didn’t hurt that Tony volunteered to wash the dishes, something that Steve hated doing. 

Steve himself certainly didn’t mind sharing a room with Tony, even if it meant sleeping on the floor. He hadn’t expected Tony to practically drag him into the bed, emphatically stating that he wasn’t going to be the reason the school’s star quarterback got a crick in his neck just before an important game. 

Steve shook his head, trying to dispel the memory of how good it had felt to have Tony sleeping next to him and adorably rumpled he had looked the next morning. He’d realized he had a crush on Tony about a month ago, but had kept it very much to himself. He’d had crushes on girls before — Carol and Natasha — but he’d barely known them. Tony was his friend, and that made it both easier and harder. 

“Watch this, I bet Dum-E can react to sounds now.” Tony pointed at the oscilloscope, then rapped on the tabletop. A jagged line appeared on the screen, matched by a change in the pitch of the static in Steve’s ears. The robot’s claw twitched slightly, and Tony excitedly pumped his fist. “Yes!” 

“You did it, pal. You really did it!” Steve cheered, gathering Tony into a big bear hug. Yes, maybe he was taking advantage of the moment to hold his crush so close, but Steve couldn’t help but be a little selfish sometimes. 

“Okay, so now you gotta come with me to the robotics competition at the end of the month.” 

“What about Rhodey? He knows way more about all this than I do.” Not that Steve wouldn’t give his eyeteeth to go with Tony, well, anywhere, but by all rights, Tony’s best friend and fellow budding engineer should be the one making the trip. He’d been the one helping Tony work the bugs out of Dum-E’s system; Steve had just been along for the ride. 

Tony sighed dramatically. “He was supposed to go, but ROTC is stealing my platypus away from me that weekend. Besides, I’ll need help lugging Dum-E around and you need to keep those muscles of yours in good shape now that the season is over.” 

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” They’d gotten soundly trounced in the regional competition by their crosstown rivals, and of course Tony had been there to see his ignominious defeat. 

Tony patted Steve’s shoulder sympathetically. “There’s always next year, sunshine.” 

\-----

"Here you go, Doctor Wilkes, it appears you and your students have received a complimentary upgrade to a suite." The hotel clerk smiled and slid the key card folder across the registration desk. "Enjoy your stay." 

Wilkes handed Steve and Tony their key cards. " Would you two take the luggage to the room, please? I'll get our robot friend down to the tech inspection." Despite being old enough to be their grandfather, he easily maneuvered the dolly Dum-E was perched on down the hall. 

Once Wilkes was out of earshot, Steve turned to his friend. "You didn't happen to have anything to do with that 'upgrade', did you, pal?" 

"Why would you think that, oh Captain, my Captain?" Steve rolled his eyes fondly at the nickname. 

"Because I know how you operate." He hefted his and Tony's duffles onto one shoulder and headed towards the elevator. 

It was a nice hotel room, as best Steve could judge; he hadn't stayed in all that many. His ma couldn't spare much time for vacations, and they usually went to visit relatives when she could get more than a day or two off. He stacked the luggage neatly while Tony stashed a six-pack of soda in the minifridge. 

The back of Steve's neck flushed hot as he realized that while the room was designed to sleep four, there weren’t four beds. The separate bedroom had a queen bed, with a similar-sized sofabed in the main room. It made sense for their teacher to have a bit more privacy, of course, and while Steve wasn’t going to complain about having to share a bed with Tony, his crush had only intensified over the past few weeks. He hoped the close proximity wouldn’t make things awkward. 

But there wasn’t much time to dwell on the sleeping arrangements; there was too much to do. First up was the welcome banquet, then various breakout sessions that evening with the competition itself starting bright and early the following morning. Steve was in way over his head, but it was enough to see Tony's enthusiasm. He talked excitedly all through dinner, leaving Steve to wonder if he’d actually eaten more than a half-dozen bites of his meal. 

It was going on eleven o'clock before they finally got back to the room; Tony had gotten caught up talking tech with a group of other students. Steve was hanging on the edge of the group, trying to at least look like he was keeping up, although his attention was completely on Tony. 

Quite a few people back at school thought Tony was stuck up and arrogant due to his family being rich; but Steve knew Tony’s attitude was just his way of keeping people at a bit of a distance. When he was somewhere like this, surrounded by people with similar interests, he came alive. Steve watched his hands practically dance through the air as he and a bespectacled Middle Eastern boy tossed ideas back and forth about making jetpacks smaller and more reliable. 

The group was joined by another young man who strode right up and roughly clapped Tony on the back. “Anthony! So good to see you!” The toothy grin he sported changed his conventionally handsome face into something almost predatory, and Steve took an instant dislike to him. 

“Justin.” Tony’s smile didn’t come anywhere near his eyes as he quickly introduced the newcomer around. “Yinsen, you were saying...” Justin did his best to take over the conversation, sprinkling what seemed like good natured jabs into his chatter. Most were directed at Tony, who was giving as good as he got. Steve assumed it was just a bit of trash talk, but then he noticed that Tony had thrust his hands in his pockets and was hunching his shoulders -- sure signs that he didn’t want to be there anymore. 

"Hey, pal. Wilkes is gonna have our heads if we don't get back to the room before curfew," Steve finally interrupted. 

Justin snorted. "Better do what your bodyguard says, Anthony.” 

"I'm his friend," Steve gritted out, "A concept you apparently aren't all that familiar with." 

Justin turned to give Steve a slow, deliberate once over. “His ‘friend’ you say?” He turned to Tony with a smirk. “Choosing brawn over brains this time?” 

“Fuck off, Justin,” Tony spat out and stalked away. After a stunned moment -- Tony usually watched his language unless he was elbow deep in a recalcitrant bit of tech -- Steve followed. 

He caught up to Tony at the elevators, where he was angrily stabbing the Up button. “What was that all about?” 

“Nothing,” Tony said. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Steve caught a glimpse of wetness on Tony’s cheek and resisted the impulse to wipe it gently away. They rode the elevator to their floor in uncharacteristic silence. Steve mulled over Justin’s comment; did that scumbag think Tony and he were dating? No -- that was surely just wishful thinking. 

Doctor Wilkes had already changed into pajamas and a robe; he was sitting in the easy chair watching television. He watched without a word as Tony stormed in, grabbed his duffel and went into the bathroom. 

Their teacher raised an eyebrow at Steve. “Did you and Tony have words?” he drawled. 

“No, sir. Someone else got him all wound up,” Steve replied, with a frown. “I kind of wanted to punch the guy.” 

Wilkes nodded. “It’s just as well you didn’t; I’d hate to have to call your mother to come all this way to get you.” He rose stiffly from the chair and bid Steve goodnight, retiring to the suite’s bedroom just as Tony came back out wearing an oversized t-shirt and loose flannel pants. 

“Your turn,” he mumbled, not quite making eye contact with Steve. “I’ll get the bed set up.” 

“Let me help.” It ended up taking the both of them to unfold the sofa -- the frame was metal and surprisingly heavy. Once they were done, Steve took his bag into the bathroom, washed his face, brushed his teeth and changed into a t shirt and shorts.

When he came back out, Tony was curled up in the easy chair with a pillow and a blanket. “Go ahead,” he gestured to the sofabed with a sadly resigned look on his face. “I can sleep here.”

“What’s going on, Tony?” Steve kept his voice low as he squatted down beside the chair; he didn’t want to wake Doctor Wilkes up. 

Tony just looked at Steve for a long moment, then with a sigh, said, “I met Justin at last year’s competition. He told me he was impressed by my plans for Dum-E and wanted to hear all about it. I was flattered by the attention, you know? Then he started coming on to me and the next thing I know, we’re making out in an empty conference room and ... one thing led to another.” Tony’s cheeks flushed a dull red. 

“I fell head over heels for him, thought we could make the long distance relationship work.” A small, sad smile flitted across his face, and it nearly broke Steve’s heart. “I got a text a week later. Said he was getting back with his girlfriend, Sunset. That I had been, and I quote, ‘a mistake’ and ‘something he needed to get out of his system’.“ Tony swallowed thickly. “So, yeah. I’m gay and you don’t have to share the bed with me.” He pulled the blanket up so it half-covered his face and turned away from Steve. 

Steve put a careful hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Tony, pal. Look at me.” He waited until those beautiful brown eyes met his. “I know it took a lot of courage for you to tell me that. Time for me to be brave as well.” He reached out and took Tony’s hands in his. “Would you go out with me next weekend?” 

Tony’s eyes grew wide. “Wait a minute... you like guys?” 

“I like you, Tony. I like you a lot. You’re smart, you’re funny, you’ve got a heart that’s a mile wide. Justin was an idiot for giving you up. But I guess I’m going to have to thank that jerk after all.” That got a small grin from Tony. “Now, how about we get to bed?” 

At an eyebrow waggle from Tony, Steve continued, “just to sleep, champ. After all, I’ve never even kissed another guy.” He wanted to take things slow with Tony, to treat him like he deserved; not like that ‘love him and leave him’ asshole, Justin. 

A hopeful look slowly spread over Tony’s face. “Um, we could fix that, if you want?” he carefully asked. 

“You know what, sweetheart? I kinda do.”


End file.
